Of all the things Mickey Downey has accomplished in his life, successfully quitting his vices is the one thing he hasn't been able to master. For the first time Mickey is free to have both Mary and Tommy in his life but yet he's never been closer to being pulled back into the criminal world. While Tommy, Ginny and James work overtime to expose a nefarious plot threatening all of them, Kiki and Maeve Downey are hatching their own plots to make Mickey’s dreams come true. With shenanigans afoot in every aspect of Mickey’s life, he may be forced to pick up the weapons he promised Mary he would leave behind in order to protect his children. Can Mary finally accept he might never truly be free of it or will Mickey’s enemies once again succeed in tearing them apart?

Excerpt:

Mary lifted her head and stared dully at his body lounging against the door frame, hands in his pockets, as usual. She was so permeated with emotion and memories and her eyes stung with that dry wetness of too many tears, she couldn’t bother to feel shame at being caught. She said the first thing on her mind. “You—you never sent them,” Mary stopped and swallowed. “How come you never mailed them to me?” Michael came and sat on the bed next to her. When the mattress dipped to accommodate him, her hip tilted into his and she put a hand out onto his thigh to brace herself. His left hand reached out and covered hers, tracing the faint wrinkles on her knuckles. His other hand reached across and gently took the box from her lap. “I didn’t know where you were. But even if I had, I wouldn’t have. I couldn’t. They were never meant for you to see. I thought by writing them I could somehow exorcise you from my heart, get the memories out of my head.” “But… After you found us and you started writing Tommy…” “It was easier with him. There was no resentment and pain with the guilt, just love. We’re family. It was my duty as his father to make sure he knew his siblings at the very least. When I wrote to him it felt like a gift. With you…” his voice trailed off and she could tell by the tightness in his tone he was battling his emotions. “I knew after I saw you again, there would never be a day when I didn’t love you. And I no longer wanted to cut you out of my heart.” She turned her head and looked into his eyes. They were bloodshot but otherwise dry. “Oh, Michael,” Mary’s voice broke and his face blurred again from her tears. She wiped them impatiently. She moved her body so she could face him more directly. “Don’t you know how much I would have given to have known even half of this?” His lips tightened and his gaze dropped to their hands. “I thought you did know, Mary. I tried the best I could to show you what you meant to me. Words are cheap. I spent my days lyin’ to people. You know I’m damn good at it. I thought, with you, the words weren’t as important as showing you. When we were together in Brooklyn, you had all of me. All of the real me. The rest of the world had the smoke and mirrors.” She reached up her hand and laid it flat against his chest. His heart was racing. He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his lips. She scooted closer and laid her head against his neck. She could feel the sinews of his muscles and bones and his breathing seemed labored. “Spend the night with me. We’ve wasted so much time. You said you came for me. I’m tired of this dance, so tired,” Michael stopped. She lifted her head and watched him grit his teeth before he continued. “I’m done with it. Done with being a gentleman. We can go on as many dates as you like, but I’m not going to be under the same roof with you and not have you in my bed.”

~~~

It is necessary to read First, I Love You (Downey #1) and Second of All (Downey #2) prior to reading Third Time's The Charm.

Genevieve Dewey is the author of The Downey Trilogy and the Downey spinoff short romances featuring Katelyn & Dominic (The Bird Day Battalion and The V-Day Aversion). She is a wife, mother, sister, friend and Anthropologist. She is also an unapologetic lover of chocolate, bourbon, high heels, guns, and spending hours getting lost in research. Gen lives in Nebraska with her husband and three children. Her books include:

The Downey Trilogy First, I Love You Second of All Third Time’s The Charm Short Romances The Bird Day Battalion (Free everywhere!) The V-Day Aversion

This is a busy time of year...back to school, Autumn field trips, Heritage festivals, apple orchards, changing leaves. The morning air is crisp. The fall foliage is bright, the most vibrant of God's colors. Time for blue jeans and favorite sweaters. It is as if the whole world is celebrating one last time before a long winter's slumber. There are sad aspects to Autumn, but instead of dwelling upon them, I like to think positive, to look forward...my OCD likes to make lists, plan and organize. I can tell the biggest difference in myself, in my own mood, when I stop fighting the OCD and just go with it. I want to sit down and make a list of Christmas gift ideas in September? Don't fight it. Don't think, oh, it's way too early and put it off. That's just something you are procastinating. Instead, just take 10 minutes of your time, sit down and make your stilly list. Be done with it! File that little list away somewhere for closer to Christmas. Maybe it will provide some good ideas for gifts. Maybe you will totally forget about it and find it some time next year when cleaning. So, what kind of lists do I have made already for this holiday season? Well, I have my Thanksgiving Day dinner planned. I don't get holidays off from my “pay-the-bills” job so I will be working that day. However, my normal shift ends by 2:30 in the afternoon on most days. It will take some planning, but this should not be an issue at all. Of course, Tom is quick to say he and the kids will help, but I enjoy cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe we can work something out though. Katie does love to bake! And both boys do love being in the kitchen. Maybe this is a goal I should set for myself…sharing some of the Thanksgiving Day to-do list. My family is all 1300 miles away and I seriously don't see any of them making the trip up to visit me for the holidays. We visit Tom’s family over the weekend. I can make Thanksgiving Day all about us, which…has its benefits. I think it would be really neat to have a table decorated too. I have not done that since being here in Maine. I think the cats would probably laugh at me for trying to sit out decorations, so I have avoided it for the most part, but I do decorate my Little Corner with a few Autumn decorations, one that even made the trip from Georgia (much to my mother's dismay!) Anyone have any good web sites or links for simple but crafty Thanksgiving table decorating ideas? Maybe that is another goal I can set for myself this Thanksgiving. I think one of my fondest memories as a child at Thanksgiving, and one that I still make an effort to do now...I have to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Okay, maybe I don't HAVE to, but I really, really like to. No one ever seems to enjoy it as much as me, but both of my boys, every year, will wander into the room, sit down and watch a bit of it with me, and that means the world to me! One of the biggest differences with moving from Georgia to Maine has been the difference in foods and traditions, which I am still enjoying learning. In the South, it's not Thanksgiving without my momma's dressing and dumplings. And let me tell you...I just got that recipe from her last year! (I may have been a teeny bit excited to finally get it!) We also cooked a ham and not turkey. A ham with pineapple slices and cherries and cloves. Which works out well here, since Tom’s family has a turkey at their family meal. We get to have both turkey and ham, we don't get overloaded on turkey by having it multiple days, and the sides that I cook to go with dinner are different than what we have over the weekend (except for maybe the green peas). This year, I think dessert will be simple. I think we are just doing pies…a simple chocolate pie, coconut pie and a butterscotch pie. There were a couple of holidays where I can remember baking a warm butterscotch pie, and my daddy eating it...a lot! I think I would like to try that again. My boys and I have always had a day of Christmas Baking (will save this idea for another post) so cookies and candies, while appreciated andgobbled instantly on Thanksgiving, are not a necessity, as we will have plenty in just a couple of weeks. So, this week’s blog post will end here with thoughts of Thanksgiving meals, turkey and pumpkins and cranberry sauce from a can… Until next week, Chelle